Hi! My Waves and Waterfalls class is opening on February 21st at www.academyofquilting.com, so just thought I'd put a waterfall up, even though that one is all done, already.

What I'm really working on is a composite of three different photographs taken at the beach 3 weeks ago (Yes, it was 80 degrees at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, then!). There was a darling little girl playing in the sand, buried up to her waist in it.

The sky was blue, the sea was crashing up onto the rocks of the arch, and people were having a great time just hanging out.

There was even a lovely butterfly kite flying - just too great!

So, putting them all together, here's the scene I'm working on. The kite will be a bit smaller, the girl's eyes won't be so distinct, and I've changed the beach bag to a pail and shovel.

So far, I've painted the sky, Puff Painted and painted the arch, made and painted the sand, and am working on the ocean.

Happy New Year! I'm starting a new adventure this year, since QuiltUniversity.com is no more; I'm now doing my online teaching at www.AcademyofQuilting.com, and have been busy editing classes and making some new short videos to put in the classes. So, far, this is the schedule:

Below this blog is a picture of one of the projects in the Waves and Waterfalls class (the orange tree with dark background), and here is the project for the Winter Wonderland class. Start your new year right by learning something fun and new!

Well, it turns out my brother, John, is the person I have for our family gift exchange. He said he wanted a wallhanging made of an old picture of him on a rock, any size, for his present. Sheesh! these presents are supposed to be a maximum of $20! What does he think I am, a photographer? Maybe a photographer would charge $20, a quilter would charge at least $200, right? Anyway, he is my brother, so I did check out the photo (see left). The figure is fairly clear, and I think the background is woodsy, but since the whole thing is in sepia tones, I have no idea what season it is. By the way, he looks pretty good there, eh? Too bad he's put on some weight since then.

So, anyway, I did a tracing of the picture, about 10" x 8" on mylar tracing paper, one side frosted.

Then I blew that up to 17" x 22" on my computer, and printed that out.

So, the next step is to paint John's face, hands, and arms. If they look like a recognizable human being, then I'll finish the quilt. If not, not. So, you still don't know if you're getting a sweatshirt or a quilt, eh, John?

Here's the Autumn Sunprints jacket front, complete with button loops and buttons. It is a bit bright, but when fall comes, with all of the lovely, drifting leaves, I just want to hold that memory against the dark times, when all the leaves have fallen, and the year is dying.

Here's the back, which is where this whole thing started. I used a very thin batting, but I think I need to throw the whole thing in the washing machine and dryer just to soften up to the comfortable stage. Now, I have to think of something very plain to wear with this, eh?

Well, it took a little longer than I thought to get the sleeves done, and I wound up using absolutely every inch of sunprinted fabric I had to finish the sleeves and cuffs, but now they're ready to quilt! Probably by the time I'm done quilting it, though, fall will be over and I will look totally out of season, but who cares?

I have found out that you can password protect pages in my new website with passwords, or just hide them from the menu, so I will spend several hours in the next couple of days uploading all of my workshop handouts, so when I get to where I'm going, I'll be able to access them from my website instead of panicking. I'm also thinking of putting up a list of all the guilds I have been to and the dates, as well as a list of my awards, but maybe that's a little too much like bragging? Inquiring minds want to know!

I have just spent the last two weeks learning to use Weebly.com to create this new website. Please take a look at it and let me know if it's working, where the typos are, and if there's something interesting here you'd like to chat about. I really had a great time making this site - my son showed me how to use the site in about 10 minutes, there are tutorials, there is a great support site built in, AND they give you a free blog site! And it's free, if you don't want the pro version (which, of course, I had to have), and it was fun! Really, I'd do a page or so, then get to thinking, and run back to the computer and add some more stuff, some more quotations, change the pages, play around with the settings, add in a slide show, and by then it was 1:00 in the morning. I swear, it's addictive! I haven't put any videos up yet, but there are lots of pictures of quilts, of garments, journal quilts, about 20 essays, and a very information article in the Essay Section about Dealing with Difficult Thread.

What's going on in the Sewing Studio?

I'm currently in the process of making a sunprint coat to replace the one that I used to wear everywhere, but slowly disintegrated into shattered silk dupioni. I found some lovely South African sunprinted fabric (the fabric in the sashing) and made my own sunprints with Setacolor Transparent paints (the fabric surrounded by the sashing). You may think it's a bit bright, but it's actually even brighter than it looks.

I'm using a pattern I've used before, but I vaguely recall I had to take about 5" out under the armpits and taper that to the bottom, and put a box pleat in the back and shoulder pleats in the front to make it fit properly. The thing is, it's not supposed to be quilted, just sort of hang, but I want it to have batting in it to wear when I make trips to colder states than California.

The thing is, it's not supposed to be quilted, just sort of hang, but I want it to have batting in it to wear when I make trips to colder states than California.

This is the back, so far. I have a grand and glorious plan for the sleeves, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how that comes out. I belong to the Tuesday Quilters who meet in the Dublin Senior Center in Dublin, CA, every Tuesday morning from 10:00 to noon. Anybody is welcome, and that's where I'll be working on the sleeves tomorrow; hopefully, I'll be able to post at least one sleeve by then!

Let me know what you think, leave a comment if you like, and let's start a conversation!

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There is vitality, a life-force, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through another medium. It will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is…It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. - Martha Graham

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." - Mother Theresa

"When the eye, the hand, and the heart come together, that's when you get the greatest art." - David Hockney